Nigeria ex-president
Goodluck Jonathan said the death of Chief Mrs Awolowo brought him and his wife
out of their ‘hiding place’.
Jonathan said;
“We, just like the immediate children, and indeed this country as a
whole, have missed her. Within this period, myself and my wife have been
hiding; we don’t even go out. We thought we’ll be hiding for at least 12 months.
“But
in this particular case, we cannot hide. So, we have come for the condolence
and to encourage our brothers and sisters that we are together. God brought her
for all of us. She just had to be the direct mother of few but she was a mother
to all. We shall mourn more than even the direct children would.”
Jonathan was among dignitaries,
who visited the Ikenne home of the
Awolowos to pay tributes to their departed matriarch, Hannah Idowu Dideolu, who
passed on last Saturday.
The former President who
arrived the Awolowo home at exactly 1:17pm was accompanied by his wife,
Patience, a former leader in the House of Representatives, Mrs Mulikat
Adeola-Akande and former chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Jide
Adeniji among others.
While condoling with the
family, the former president noted that HID Awolowo enjoyed a rare privilege of
living extra 29 years, when compared to the biblical prescription of three
scores and ten.
He further described her as
a rare mother, whose milk of human kindness, milk of encouragement and milk of
advice Nigerians still need.
He said:
“Me and my wife are not mourning because mama has passed on. For me, we
believe that it’s a rare privilege to add extra 29 years to the biblical three
scores and 10; it’s not easy.
“Ordinarily,
we wouldn’t have been mourning but mama was a rare mother. She was a woman of
virtue described in the Bible and she was a mother to all of us.
“A
mother that her milk of kindness we still need, her milk of encouragement we
still need, her milk of advice we still need and today she’s no more with us.”
Meanwhile, the Awolowo
family has disclosed that their late matriarch would be buried November 25,
2015, the day she would have been 100 years.
The eldest daughter of the
family, Omotola Oyediran disclosed this while appreciating the former President
for his condolence over the death of their matriarch.
According to Omotola:
”What can we say but to give God all the glory
for a very beautiful life she lived. She has done so much and it is impossible
for us to put all that she has done together.
“I want to assure you that
though some of you have received letters in the past about the centenary in
order to write tributes for her. I want to assure you that those tributes will
be printed.
“I want to appeal to all of
you to be part of celebrating mama, by the grace of God, we haven’t concluded
the arrangements but I would let you know that the very day that she was
supposed to be 100 years, she would be buried. There will be dancing amid tears
at the burial of who I call Iya niwura.
“There is no way you can
separate papa from mama and mama from papa, the story is one. It is interesting
that papa passed on Saturday, 9th of May, 1987 and mama also passed on
Saturday, 19th of September, 2015, we give God all the glory”, he said .
While appreciating the
former President, Oyediran said: “I remember many times the former president
came to see mama and those times, mama referred to him as her son. We also want
to appreciate you and I’m sure you understand. The memory will live with us for
many years.
“I really want to
appreciate the president and his lovely wife for coming all the way wherever
you have been, be it Abuja or Bayelsa to come and see us in Ikenne, it is a
show of deep love for the Awolowos, thank you very much”.
Shows you not tribalistic
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